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Grout cracking in bathroom - what's the best way to sort this out?

We had our bathroom floor tiled and grouted last year by a friend. He said he was going to come back and seal it, but didn't (needless to say he is now off the xmas card list!). Now the grout is cracking and bits are chipping off. What is the best way to sort this out? I don't really want to have the whole bathroom re-tiled as can't afford it.

Asked by: emilyforrest
22nd Jun 2011

7 Answers

Best Answer

Is it just the grout that is cracking or are the tiles loose?
if it's the floor grout only, then buy a grout rake, a tool with rough carbide teeth that will remove the grout when you run it down the line, Regrout using latex and grout, not water, allow the grout to stand a little before wiping off with a clean sponge.
This will only fix loose grout not loose tiles.

My first thought is, has it been tiled on a wood floor, if so was flexible adhesive and grout used, as the movement in the floor will in time loosen the fixing of the tiles and the movement cracks the grout.
You can try raking out the grout and regrouting with a flexible grout this may cure it, but maybe only temporarily.
The ultimate fix would be to re tile the floor using the correct materials.
Hope this helps.
Phil (Alpha Property Services)

Its sound that its not grout thats the problem its the tiling itself, poor prep is probably the answer .Regrouting with flexable grout will not solve it as it sounds the tiles are on the move they will all crack in time.The answer is take up all the tiles and start again using the correct method of fixing,they will only get worse.

Hello. Sound like your friend hasn't used flexible grout
For the tiles. But if he's got that wrong maybe the incorrect
Adhesive has been used also causing the tiles to move hence cracking
The grout. Try remove grout from the joints and re-grouting with a flexible floor grout. If it cracks again you may have to think about getting the floor retiled.
Hope this helps
Chris